Rigol HDO1000 and HDO4000 12bit oscilloscopes launched in China

[Njk]

Unless the -U series specs have changed, it also has a slower waveform capture rate. 30 k/s normally (vs. 50k/s for the regular DHO1000), and 500 k/s in the not-so-useful UltraAcquire mode (vs. 1,500 k/s).

Yes, that seems an obvious consequence of the memory size reduction. But 1000U has separate user's manual. For some reason, they had decided to publish a new manual rather than to update the existing one (the easiest way). Perhaps there are more functional restrictions.

[Martin72]

The HDO1000U serie has released recently.

If I were rigol, I would have taken care of the old series first.

[Kurt_!]

The HDO1000U serie has released recently.

If I were rigol, I would have taken care of the old series first.

Yes, that would be right.
There is still a lot to do!
But they would rather build 10 more Ozis before they......

[thm_w]

There is nothing new here, the manual is from 2023.
There is also no point to purchase it unless it goes on clearance, as the cost of DHO1204U is currently the same as the DHO1074 which is superior.

Probably specifically made for a university bid, as related to Daves recent video.

[Njk]

If I were rigol, I would have taken care of the old series first.

Sure but I think in this case it's OK. It's an evolutionary version. The real problem is that they are seemingly unable to finish any product because of frequent revolutions (Android, processors, etc., and the rumors about new chipset in the pipeline are circulating). But U looks like an abridged HDO1000. Indeed, it might be related to something like a university bid. Anyway it's a minor change that does not naturally require a dedicated SW branch, so it's unlikely the developers are much disturbed by this. BTW HDOs does not look abandoned so far, there is a long list of fixes in the latest release notes (of 2024/03/27). What's terribly wrong with that scopes at the time?

[ebastler]

What's terribly wrong with that scopes at the time?

A very slow "recording" mode with abysmal waveform (trigger) rates comes to mind, which Rigol have apparently tried to gloss over with the "UltraAcquire" mode for better numbers in the spec sheet. Also, a rather limited FFT implementation (no averaging or max hold) with a buggy Flattop window function -- I don't think the recent firmware upgrade has changed that?

More fundamentally, I find it very odd that Rigol offers a product family in this price range (up to the DHO4000!) which does not provide any options for digital inputs, built-in function generator or control of an external generator. I would have expected to see enhanced models with these capabilities before Rigol launch a scaled-back -U version. Especially given the fact that these options are available in the low-end DHO900 series, which is based on the same software platform.

[thm_w]

DHO900S is a $770 scope. You've added $330 to the price of a DHO800 just to get a wimpy built in LA and Sig gen. Not worth it.
I'd rather put that money towards a good external gen, which yes you are right should really be supported via network or USB control.

[rpro]

What's terribly wrong with that scopes at the time?

A very slow "recording" mode with abysmal waveform (trigger) rates comes to mind

Fast enough (on DHO800 at least)  for some use cases....e.g., see attached.

[ebastler]

Fast enough (on DHO800 at least)  for some use cases....e.g., see attached.

Thanks for sharing the video. It shows 270 waveform captures in 3 seconds or so, around 10 ms per capture. But each actual sweep only takes 500 µs. So what is the scope doing in the meantime?

[ebastler]

DHO900S is a $770 scope. You've added $330 to the price of a DHO800 just to get a wimpy built in LA and Sig gen. Not worth it.
I'd rather put that money towards a good external gen, which yes you are right should really be supported via network or USB control.

I am not advocating the DHO900 in particular. Rigol's design choice to divide the available sampling rate between the analog and digital inputs is very unusual and quite disappointing, so I agree that the built-in LA is compromised. But I would expect to have proper LA inputs in the DHO1000 and 4000 series which don't hamper the analog performance, as offered in the MSO5000 or even the DS1000Z Plus.

Regarding the signal generator, personally I also prefer an external one without too many compromises. If Rigol could implement the option to drive an external Rigol generator for automated Bode plots, that would be ideal in my opinion. But for whatever reason they have never offered this in any of their scopes.

[rpro]

Fast enough (on DHO800 at least)  for some use cases....e.g., see attached.

Thanks for sharing the video. It shows 270 waveform captures in 3 seconds or so, around 10 ms per capture. But each actual sweep only takes 500 µs. So what is the scope doing in the meantime?

Waiting for the next burst, among other things.

[ebastler]

Thanks for sharing the video. It shows 270 waveform captures in 3 seconds or so, around 10 ms per capture. But each actual sweep only takes 500 µs. So what is the scope doing in the meantime?

Waiting for the next burst, among other things.

Alright. So how fast can the scope record when the occurence of signals is not the limiting factor?

When I had a DHO1074 for a while, the best I could get was less than one shot every 5 ms, even for much faster signals and trigger rates. And the stored time stamps for the recorded traces did not seem real, they did not match stop-watch time.

Here's my list of some reasons for eventually returning the scope. Not sure whether anything has been changed by a firmware update in the meantime? Of course, others might not consider these as critical and will be happy enough with the Rigol.